13-day Kashmiri Craft Bazaar kicked-off

Slathia for using digital technology in handicrafts

Greater Kashmir / GK NEWS NETWORK Publish Date: Oct 12 2012 12:00PM

Srinagar, Oct 11: Minister for Industries and Commerce Surjit Singh Slathia Wednesday inaugurated II-phase of the Kashmiri Craft Bazaar at the world famous tourist hub- Boulevard near Dal Lake here. The II-phase of the Craft Bazaar has been organized by the Directorate of Handicrafts, J&K, keeping in view the tremendous response from the visitors who thronged the venue to buy genuine handicraft goods at reasonable price. The Crafts Bazaar will continue for 13 days. Speaking on the occasion, Slathia underscored the need for providing suitable platform to the artisans so that they can exhibit as well as sell their goods directly to the customers without any exploitation by the middlemen, an official statement said. He said this is the basic objective to organize exhibitions and craft Bazaars in and outside the state adding that there is a great need to explore new marketing channels to give big boost to the sale of world famous handicrafts in the National and International Markets. “We live in a digitally networked world now and must make good use of this most modern scientific invention for showcasing our rich and rare handicrafts which are known for its intricacy and purity in the world market”, Slathia added. He said that the use of internet would also be beneficial for this purpose. Slathia went round all the 30 stalls set up by the artisans and interacted with them. He assured the artisans that government would explore all possibilities to improve their lot and promote handicrafts in a big way.